With the influx of new believers into our Denver-Metro police fellowship and Bible study, God has clearly pressed me into teaching through the Gospel of John (a great starting place for "baby Christians" and a powerful refresher for seasoned believers).  Moreover, John's Gospel also has important application for all of serving in law enforcement (and all in general).  Let's dig in!

By way of introduction, who is the author?  While John physically wrote it, God Himself is ultimately the author.  Paul, also (like John) writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, rightly exclaimed that ALL Scripture is " breathed out" ( God-breathed) by God ( 2 Timothy 3:16).  If that were not enough, it is unquestionably clear that God is quoted throughout the Bible. O ver 400 times alone we find the words "thus says the Lord." Moreover, the Bible refers to itself as the Word of God dozens of times (e.g.,  Psalm 119; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 40:8; 55:11; Jeremiah 23:29; John 17:17; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12 ) and that it proceeds from the mouth of God ( Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4 ).  In short, the evidence that God is the ultimate author of the Bible is nothing short of undeniable!

And what then does the word "gospel" mean?  It simply means "good news" and, in fact, John's gospel is very Good News indeed!  

John begins with the profound announcement that Jesus was present "in the beginning" -- the Word of God who became "God with skin on" as a human being born to be the light for the world. After this comes the "love letter-esque" proclamation that Jesus is the Son of God sent from the Father to finish His work in the world (John 4:34).

As we'll see, Jesus' famous words to Nicodemus summarize this Gospel's central theme: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). The Greek word "believe" of course means a whole lot more than how we usually use it in English (it literally means "complete surrender," to hold on/cleave to God like your life depends on it -- and it does).

In John 20:31, John clearly states what God has called him write his gospel  so "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name ."

With that, using bullet points (cops love using bullet points in writing reports) let's begin by breaking down the first 18 verses of Chapter 1:

Verses 1-3: In the beginning was  the Word, and  the Word was with God, and  the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

(1) "The Word" is someone who can be referred to as "Him" (v. 3). The Greek word for "Word" is Logos, and is another name and title for Jesus!  In fact, we could do a whole series on that word (the Word) alone!

(2)  So then Jesus was both "with God" the Father and "was God" Himself (v. 1).  We have to be careful here: cults like the Watchtower Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) intentionally change "was God" to "was a god" -- a false teaching that Jesus is Michael the Archangel as shown in their grossly misleading and ever-changing "bible," the New World Translation. This is another reason that teaching "sound doctrine" (Titus 2: 1, et al) is so vital!

(3) He existed from "the beginning" (v. 1-2). The beginning of what?  Turn all the way back to Genesis 1 (the literal beginning) and find out!  As you do so, take special note of the word "Us" in Genesis 1:26. And who is Us? This is one of many places we find the Trinity ("Us" being God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit)!

Verses 4-5:  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

(1) The Life? As we'll see later in John 14:6, "the Life" (life) is yet another name for Jesus.

(2)  The Light?  Still yet another name for Jesus with the emphasis of outshining and defeating the darkness of sin and hell.

Verses 6-13:   There was a man sent from God, whose name was  John. He came as a  witness, to bear witness about the light,  that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet  the world did not know Him.  He came to  his own, and  his own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood  nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

(1)  Here we are introduced to the unimpeachable expert "witness" of our study (a concept that we who serve in law enforcement can most certainly understand). And who is this John the "witness?" Not John the author of the gospel, but rather John the Baptist!   God then spells out for us John the Baptist's "calling" in verses 7 and 8: to bear witness  (testify) about Jesus! 

(2)  Who are "His own" who rejected Him?  The Israelites (Jesus' fellow Jews)!  

(3)  And those who "received" Him and were "born" not of the flesh (human birth) but "of God?" In short, all who  " repent and believe " ( Mark 1:15 ) in Christ and are "born again" in Him as Lord and Savior and thereby become God's children! 

Verse 14 reveals that Jesus -- God the Son -- " b ecame flesh and dwelt among us."   Flesh?  Again, "God with skin on!"  

Verse 18 brings us to a point of precision about Jesus' relationship with God the Father:  No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. In the original Greek, "only begotten" literally means "one of a kind" (unique, incomparable) with the connotation that He has always existed (from "the beginning") with God the Father.  

So how can we now summarize this Jesus (the Beginning) that John the Baptist is witness to and is about to give testimony about?    

A. Jesus, as God the Son, is someone who can be rightly referred to as "He" or "Him."
B. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God the Father.
C. Jesus is God in the flesh.
D. Jesus existed from "the beginning."
E. Everything was made through Jesus.